Director, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cleveland. We are the nation’s leader in health care research and delivery, innovation, biotechnology, medical and interprofessional education, and health care reform. On September 29 we are hosting the first 2020 U.S. Presidential Debate leading up to the election in November. Health care will be a main topic of the debate, and we have an opportunity to deliver our perspective to the nation.

In the week before the debate, Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine will host a series of live virtual forums featuring leaders in the health care field covering pressing issues affecting global health care today. The forums will be led by experts across our faculty, affiliates and national and community health partners. These one-hour forums will offer lively discussion, expert opinions with real-life examples and audience participation.

I encourage you to register for the virtual forums, which are open to medical and community health care professionals and groups, government officials, faculty, staff, students and the general public. We also welcome you to distribute these events and your thoughts from the forums via social media - the more participation, the better!

Justin Lathia, PhD and Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD are leading a multi-institutional consortium to study molecular-level differences in glioblastoma between males and females. The research is supported by a five-year, $10.4M grant from the National Cancer Institute, and builds upon the team's previous research showing significant differences between the sexes in glioblastoma incidence, survival and some molecular pathways.

Dr. Lathia is staff at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute and co-leader of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center's Molecular Oncology Program. Dr. Barnholtz-Sloan is the Sally S. Morley Designated Professor in Brain Tumor Research and associate director of data sciences at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

Three related projects will investigate the basic biology and cellular mechanisms that drive sex differences in glioblastoma cellular interactions, therapeutic response and growth. Researches will compare data from animal models to human samples across multiple institutions. This information will then be analyzed for sex differences at the genetic, epigenetic and cell biology level. The research requires sophisticated and robust data management and analysis, and could offer many answers in the role of sex in tumor formation. The team's findings will inform future clinical research design and lead to more personalized therapies, including the search for new therapeutics and the use of existing therapeutics that may be applied differently depending on a patient's sex.

From University Hospitals: In honor of a transformational $10 million gift from Kimberly and Joseph Wesley, University Hospitals is establishing the Wesley Center for Immunotherapy at UH Seidman Cancer Center. This generous gift will further enable physician-scientists to engage in groundbreaking research and bring new, life-extending immunotherapy treatments to patients. One such patient is Joseph Wesley himself, who has been a patient at Seidman Cancer Center for many years.

When a cancerous growth larger than a half dollar appeared on my cheek, I immediately went to Dr. [Theodoros] Teknos. Surgery and other traditional treatments weren’t options for me, so we turned to immunotherapy,” shared Joe Wesley. “Today, the growth is smaller than a dime and I will continue until I’m cancer-free. My team of doctors and nurses at UH have been tremendously helpful through the entire process. Kim and I chose to make this gift because we’re firm believers in the power of immunotherapy and want others to benefit from this leading edge innovation.”

This week, Crain's Cleveland Business, announced their 2020 Class of "Forty under 40" - Northeast Ohio leaders making a difference in their companies and communities. Please join us in celebrating Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) members Aziz Nazha, MD and Satish Viswanath, PhD for being recognized in this year's list!

Dr. Nazha is Director of the Center for Clinical Artificial Intelligence at Cleveland Clinic, assistant professor of medicine and a member of the Case CCC's Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program. While he continues to care for patients, Aziz has now merged his interest in medicine with his interest in computers with clinical artificial intelligence, aiming to provide tools for physicians and patients to make their lives better.

Dr. Viswanath is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and radiology at the Case School of Engineering and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is a member of the Case CCC's Cancer Imaging Program, and serves on the planning committee for the Artificial Intelligence in Oncology Symposium. Focused on creating the next generation of artificial intelligence in medicine, Satish's work is about identifying where diseases are in the body, how aggressive they are, and helping find the best treatment.

As the seasons change this month, so do the roles of four Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Members who were recently appointed to the following positions at Cleveland Clinic. Please join us in congratulating each of them, pictured left to right below, for their accomplishments!

Sudipto Mukherjee, MD, MPH named Director, Rare Diseases Program

Hetty Carraway, MD named Director, Leukemia Program

Nathan Pennell, MD, PhD named Vice Chair for Clinical Research

Aaron Gerds, MD named Deputy Director for Clinical Research

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) extends congratulations to members Jaroslaw (Jarek) Maciejewski, MD, PhD and Robert Fairchild, PhD, as they were recently presented with honors during the virtual annual staff meeting of Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.

Dr. Maciejewski was presented with the F. Mason Sones, MD, Innovation Award, which honors the spirit of Dr. Sones, a cardiovascular researcher whose seminal discoveries led to better patient care. Jarek was honored for his groundbreaking genomic discoveries related to leukemia and contributions to cancer precision medicine. He is Chair of the Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research in Lerner and Taussig Cancer Institute and Co-Leader of the Case CCC's Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program.

Dr. Fairchild was named with the George W. Crile Founders Professional Staff Award, which honors Dr. Crile’s passion for research and recognizes human or lab-based research. Rob’s lab developed pioneering models to mediate heart and kidney transplant rejection that are now used by many laboratories. As a leader of the Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation-19 consortium, he and collaborators have developed a non-invasive method using RNA in the urine to detect kidney graft injury. He is a member of the Case CCC's Hematopoietic and Immune Cancer Biology Program.

On Wednesday, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its inaugural Cancer Disparities Progress Report, an exciting new initiative with the overarching goal of increasing public understanding of cancer health disparities and the vital importance of research to saving lives.

The report also emphasizes the vital need for continued transformative research and for increased collaboration among all stakeholders working toward the bold vision of health equity. It also underscores the need for increased federal funding for the government entities that fuel progress against cancer health disparities, in particular, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is collecting baseline and longitudinal data on COVID-19's impact on individuals with cancer through the ASCO Registry and plans to deliver periodic reports with key findings that can influence future care.

The more diversity and larger number of patients the registry includes, the more we can learn from this unique experience in cancer care. Initial reporting will be available within the coming weeks. Participating practices receive a per-case stipend to help cover the expenses of participation. The Registry is open to all U.S. oncology practices, including physician-owned, academic, and hospital/health system-owned practices, and hospitals.

To-date, the 44 members that comprise Team Case Comprehensive Cancer Center have raised $22,967 and counting for lifesaving cancer research at Cleveland's top-tier hospitals and research institutions.

Despite the shift to Virtual VeloSano, our team pressed on and remained committed to participating in their chosen activities - biking, hiking, walking and yes, even gardening. Fundraising for this year's event will continue through October 1, 2020. Thank you to our committed team members, those who have donated to the cause and all who have cheered them on!

The newly established CWRU Translational Fellow Program (TFP) seeks to train individuals in entrepreneurship and the translation of innovation to benefit humanity by connecting them to programs and workshops around campus while protecting time for entrepreneurial activities.

The pilot year began July 2020, with a second cohort starting November 1st. TFP is therefore seeking applications from individuals interested in a career in technology commercialization, especially (but not limited to) doctoral students or post-docs, to work through the process of developing a technology for commercialization beginning 11/1/2020.

Benefits:

Requirements:

Eligibility:

Questions may be directed to Cheryl Thompson, PhD, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Educational Initiatives, School of Medicine, at cheryl@case.edu. The program anticipates funding 2 to 4 fellows in this round.

The Harry J. Lloyd Charitable trust is accepting applications for research projects related to melanoma. Only one application per institution in each of the three grant categories may be funded. Average grants are $125,000/year (no IDC) for 1-2 years.

Investigators should submit Specific Aims (one page) and an NIH-style biosketch via the InfoReady application form by October 1, 2020.

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center leadership will review all applicants. Selected nominees will work with their department research administrators and the Case CCC to submit full applications to the sponsor before November 1, 2020.

Applicants must specify their grant category:

Special consideration given to:

The NCI has announced a Request for Applications for the Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition (F99/K00) Award for 2020, to support outstanding PhD candidates as they complete their dissertation research training (F99 phase; 1-2 years) and transition to a mentored, cancer-focused postdoctoral career development research positions (K00 phase – up to 4 years).

The F99/K00 award is open to 3rd or 4th year PhD students, including F31 Fellowship applicants and current awardees (note that 3 rd or 4 th year students would have matriculated in 2017 or 2018). International students may also apply. Students Matriculated in a dual-degree program (e.g.) MD/PhD, DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, or DVM/PhD) are not eligible for the F99/K00 program. Projects must be clearly focused on cancer.

To apply for this award, an applicant must be nominated by their institution. As each institution is allocated only one nomination, the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) requires potential applicants to assemble a pre-application.

Click here to download nomination application instructions. Contact Damian Junk at damian.junk@case.edu for additional information.

With the generous support from VeloSano Bike to Cure, the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) is providing funding for Case CCC Trainee Associate Members to perform their “dream experiment.”

The experiment should catalyze highly innovative and impactful projects and help strengthen fellowship and career development grant applications. The intent of the award is to support a single or limited set of innovative experiments, not for general laboratory supplies/projects or maintenance of the trainee’s project.

Up to five (4) projects will be funded at $10,000/award. Research projects must be completed within one (1) year, with funds expended by June 30, 2021.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has issued a call for proposals for its Community Solutions for Health Equity program.

Launched in the summer of 2019, the program seeks to elevate the voices of communities of color and other communities left out of discussions when local healthcare systems in the United States are creating policy. Racism and bias are often at the root of communities of color and other communities being excluded from policy considerations, often by design. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted ways in which communities of color are disproportionately burdened by racist and oppressive systems — from health care to education to housing — with significant consequences to physical and mental health.

Through the program, a total of nine grants of up to $300,000 over three years will be awarded in support of efforts by diverse consumer groups and community-based organizations to identify a problem that negatively affects consumers; envision solutions to the problem; and partner with healthcare systems to implement those solutions.